1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle protection apparatus at collision time for protecting a human body when a collision occurs between a vehicle of an automobile and a two-wheeled vehicle or a pedestrian.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, shock absorption by a car body, equipment of air bags, and the like have been planned to protect a vehicle passenger if the automobile encounters an accident. Further, it has been proposed to install an apparatus for protecting a pedestrian, etc., when a vehicle comes into collision with the pedestrian, etc., in the vehicle. For example, JP-A-8-258667 discloses a hood air bag apparatus for exploding an air bag on a hood of a vehicle body when the running vehicle comes into collision with a pedestrian and further covering the pedestrian with a drop prevention net if the pedestrian drops onto the hood. As a related art of exploding an air bag to the outside of a car body at the collision time, JP-A-7-277114 discloses a shock body diving-under prevention apparatus for exploding an air bag below the vehicle to prevent the shock body causing a shock from diving under the vehicle if the shock is given to the back of the vehicle.
Hitherto, as protection apparatus at the vehicle collision time, those for protecting vehicle passengers and pedestrians have been designed. However, protection for such a case where a passenger of a two-wheeled vehicle is knocked over when an automobile comes in collision with the two-wheeled vehicle is not much considered. When a two-wheeled vehicle, particularly, a motorcycle such as an autobicycle comes in collision with a vehicle, such as a head-on collision, often the relative speed with the vehicle is very increased. It is feared that the passenger of the two-wheeled vehicle may be knocked over so as to jump above the vehicle of an automobile and drop just before the following vehicle and a secondary disaster may occur, enlarging the injury leading to dying. Particularly, if an autobicycle on which two persons ride double or the like comes in collision with a vehicle, there is a large possibility that the fellow passenger will be knocked over to the opposite side to the vehicle collision point as compared with the driver.
In JP-A-8-258667, the air bag, etc., is exploded onto the top of the hood of the car body, namely, the vehicle hood or so and effective protection cannot be provided against such a collision causing a passenger to jump the vehicle.